myth making and meaning making 3...my experience working with a generation of pitjantjatjara...

Mythmakingandmeaningmaking:theschoolandIndigenouschildren

DavidRoseInMHamilton,RHeydon,KHibbert&RStooke[Eds.].MultimodalityandGovernmentality:NegotiatingSpacesinLiteracyCurriculaAcrossDomains.London:Continuum,2015,167-184Introduction

Thethemesofthisvolumebringtogethertwofieldsofstudythatseemonlydistantlyrelatedatfirstsight,asociologicalstudyofgovernanceineducationandthesemioticstudyofcommunicativemodalities.ButthebreadthofthesethemesgivesmeanopportunitytotietogethertwoperspectivesonschoolsandIndigenouschildren,thatIhopethereaderwillfindilluminatinganduseful.OneperspectiveisonthegovernanceofthecolonisingmodernEuropeancultureoverwhathappenstoIndigenouschildreninschool(beyondtheformalroleofgovernment);theotherisontherealisationofthecolonisingcultureinthemodalitiesofteachingandlearningthatIndigenouschildrenaresubjectedtoinschool.Howeverthechapterisnotmerelyacomplaint,itcontainstwoparts:thefirstpartisananalysisofthesefactorsandeffects,usingaframeworkfromsocialtheory,thesecondisaprocedureforovercomingthem,developedandproveninalongtermactionresearchprogram.ThebackgroundtothechapterstartsfrommyownlongtermcommitmenttoeducationforIndigenouspeople,fromthePitjantjatjarahomelandsincentralAustralia(Rose1999,2011a)tometropolitanuniversities(Rose,Lui-Chivize,McKnight&Smith2004,Rose,Rose,Farrington&Page2008).MyexperienceworkingwithagenerationofPitjantjatjarachildrenwhohadcompletedprimaryschoolbutremainedalmostentirelyilliterate,andaddictedtopetrolsniffing,ledmetoaskwhytheirschoolinghadbeensounsuccessful,andwhatrolethismayhaveplayedintheirself-destructiveactivity.Attheurgingoftheirelders,italsoledmetoseekouthowtoteachliteracymoreeffectively,culminatingoverthelast15years,inthedevelopmentofateacherprofessionallearningprogramknownasReadingtoLearn.ReadingtoLearnbeganwithanactionresearchproject,ScaffoldingReadingandWritingforIndigenousChildreninSchool(Rose,Gray&Cowey1999),thatworkedwithteacherstosynthesisestrategiesforteachingreadingandwritingthathadbeendevelopinginAustraliaoverthepreviousdecade(Rose&Martin2012).Atthestartoftheproject,nostudentstestedinthePitjantjatjaracommunityprimaryschoolswerereadingmorethanbasalpicturebooksbytheendofprimaryschool,andnoPitjantjatjarastudentstestedinurbansecondaryschoolswerereadingabovejuniorprimarylevels.Bytheendoftheproject’sfirstyear,mostofthesestudentswerereadingatageappropriatelevels,andindependentevaluationshowedaverageliteracygrowthataratenormallyexpectedoverfouryears(McCraeetal2000).SincethenReadingtoLearnhasgrowninscopeasaclassroomandprofessonallearningprogramforprimary,secondaryandtertiaryteachers,andinscaleacrossAustralia,southandeastAfrica(Dell2011,Millin2011)andwesternEurope(Coffin,Acevedo&Lövstedt2013).Theresultsofuptofourtimestypicalliteracygrowthrateshavebeenconsistentlyreplicated(Culican2006,Rose2011b,Rose&Martin2013).Centraltotheprogram’seffectivenessareononehand,ananalysisofgovernmentalfactorsineducation

systemsthatconstraineffectiveteachingfordisadvantagedstudents,andontheotherhand,adesignofmultimodalstrategiestoenhanceliteracylearningforallstudents.GovernmentalityandIndigenouseducation

Although‘westernculture’isoftenopposedto‘Indigenousculture’asthoughtheywerepolarcontrasts,theoppositionishighlymisleading.Tobeginwith,whataspectsofeachculturearebeingcontrasted?Oneaspectthatcouldreasonablybecomparedissocialhierachy.WhereasIndigenouscommunitiestendtofavouranideologyof‘egalitarianmutuality’(Maddock1972),thedominantorganisingprincipleofmodernwesternsocietiesremainssocialstratification.Thecolonisingcultureisorganisedbysocio-economicclass,whetherornotthepoliticalsystemisdemocratic.Colonisedcommunitiesdonotsitoutsidetheclasssystem,butaremoreorlessintegratedinit,ofteninthelowesteconomicstratum,withhighunemployment,loweducation,poorhealth,highwelfaredependency,incarcerationandvariousothermarkersofsocialdisadvantage.Forthisreason,theproblemsthatIndigenouschildrenexperiencewithschoolarenotentirelydifferentfromtheproblemsthatmanyotherchildrenexperiencefromeconomicallydisadvantagedgroups.Pooreducationoutcomesarefrequentlyassociatedwithfamilies’lowersocio-economicclasspositions;thepoorerthefamily,thepoorertheirchildren’sschooloutcomesarelikelytobe.Indigenouschildren’slackofschoolsuccessisnotjustbecausetheyareIndigenous,butiswidelyassociatedwitheconomicdisadvantageinthemodernsocietiestheyarepartof.IfweareseriousaboutimprovingtheeducationoutcomesofIndigenousstudents,wehavetostartwithananalysisoftheschool’sroleinreproducingsocio-economicdisadvantage.TothisendIwilldrawonBasilBernstein’s(1990/2003,2000)analysisofwhathecalls‘thepedagogicdevice’.Likethesocietiestheyserve,Bernsteinpointsoutthateducationsystemsarealsohighlystratified.Heanalysestheirorganisationintermsofthedivisionoflabourintheexchangeofknowledge.Atonelevelistheproductionofknowledge,primarilybyresearchersandtheoristsintheupperechelonsofacademe.Thesecondlevelhedescribesastherecontextualisingfield,inwhichknowledgeistransformedforpedagogicpurposes.Thethirdlevelhecallsthefieldofreproduction,whererecontextualisedknowledgeisexchangedbetweenteachersandlearners.Bernsteincomparesthishierarchyofpedagogicfieldstoreligioushierarchies,fromwhichitevolvedintheearlymodernperiod,ofprophets,priestsandlaity.Crucially,Bernsteindrawstwobroaddivisionsintherecontextualisingfield,apedagogicrecontextualisingfield(PRF)includingteachereducationfacultiesandeducationalpublishers,andanofficialrecontextualisingfield(ORF)thatincludesstateeducationdepartmentsandboardsofstudies.Theofficialandpedagogicrecontextualisingfieldsareofteninconflictoverwhateachconsidersappropriatepedagogies,curriculumcontents,andassessments.Bernsteinsuggeststhatthesestrugglesareassociatedwithconflictsbetweenclassfractionsinthesocietyservedbytheeducationsystem,primarilybetweenfractionsofthemodernmiddleclass,thathaveevolvedoverthepastcenturyintandemwiththeevolutionofschooling.Bernsteindistinguishesan‘oldmiddleclass’,whosebaseisineconomicproduction,andinprofessionssuchasmanagement,engineering,law,medicine,anda‘newmiddleclass’,

whosebaseisintheproductionandexchangeofsymboliccommodities,suchaseducationandmedia.Thesegroupshavedifferenteconomicinterests,andtendtoholddifferentpositionsoverwhatconstitutesvalidcurriculumandpedagogy.Wheretheoldmiddleclasstendstofavourpedagogiesinwhichteachers’authority,transmissionofknowledge,andcriteriaforassessmentareexplicit,thenewmiddleclasstendstopreferpedagogiesinwhichlearnersappeartohavemorecontrol,discoveringknowledgeforthemselvesattheirownpace,achievingcriteriauniquetotheirownperson.Thesetypesofpedagogyhavelongbeencharacterisedas‘traditional’and‘progressive’respectively.Bernsteincontraststhemas‘visible’and‘invisible’,sincehierarchy,sequencingandcriteriaareexplicitinthetraditionalmode,butmaskedintheprogressivemode.TheprogressivistmovementsweptAustralianeducationfacultiesfromthelate1970s,as‘wholelanguage’literacypedagogy,andmorespecifically‘processwriting’,inwhichchildrenwereexpectedtospontaneouslydevelopliteracycompetencesthrough‘immersion’in‘languagerichenvironments’,andteacherswereproscribedfrominterveninginandhenceconstrainingchildren’screativedevelopment(Christie2004,2010).Theseideasarealiveandwelltodayinmanypartsoftheworld,withthetermconstructivistnowgenerallyusedtorefertotheapproach.Alexander,inhisrevealingstudyofprimaryschoolpedagogyaroundtheworld,notesthefollowingpieceofprogressivephilosophy(2000:548),prominentlydisplayedontheclassroomwallofoneofhisMichigan,USAschools.

Importantissuestome–ProcessorientationvsproductorientationTeachingstudentsvsteachingprogramsTeacherasfacilitatorvsteacherasmanagerDevelopingasetofstrategiesvsmasteringasetofskillsCelebratingapproximationvscelebratingperfectionPromotingindependenceinlearningvsdependenceonteacher

Theideologicalpolarisingofprocessvsproductandindependentlearningvsteachingofskillsarguablyadvantagedchildrenfromliteratemiddle-classfamilies,whotypicallyarriveatschoolwithanaverage1000hoursexperienceofparent-childreading,incontrastwithchildrenwhostartwithlittleornosuchexperience(Adams1990,Williams1995).ForIndigenouschildren,whosefamilycultureisoftenpurelyoral,withlittleornohomereading,andmayalsobenon-Englishspeaking,ithasremainedanon-goingcalamity.AlloverAustralia,Indigenouschildrenrightthroughprimaryschooltypicallyproducedshorttextsofafewsentences,inresponsetotheprogressivistinstructionto‘writefrompersonalexperience’.Thetextswerebriefrecountsorobservation/comments,usingonlywordstheyknewhowtospell,andsentencestheyknewwouldnotbecorrectedbytheteacher,intheso-called‘editing’stageofprocesswriting(Gray1990,Rose,Gray&Cowey1999,Rose&Martin2012).Text1illustratesacommonstandardformanystudentsinupperprimaryschool,afterfourorfiveyearsofprocesswriting.

Text1:Exampleofprocesswritinginupperprimary

OntheholidayIwentmydadsfor3weekweaksanwewenttoanteJhinshousforcrismus.IgotLeogoandahumonicIwasverehappytoseher.FromBLakItwasnotthatchildrenwritingsuchtextslackedtheresourcesofspokenEnglish,butthattheycouldnotusetheseresourcesasabasisforlearningtoreadandwrite,aswholelanguageandprocesswritingexpectedthemto.HenceapedagogicmovementthatwasostensiblyliberatoryfailedtoprovidemanyIndigenouschildrenwiththeresourcestheyneedtosucceedinschool,andtogoontofurthereducation.ThishasbeenadoubletragedyforIndigenouspeople,asprogessivism/constructivismtookoverinanerawhentheyneededaccesstohighleveleducationmorethaneverbefore.Untilthe1970sinAustralia,educationforIndigenouschildrenwasoftenrestricted,andthelivesofIndigenouspeoplewerecontrolledunderracistlegislation.Astheideologicalclimateshifted,authoritativepedagogicpracticeswereoftenassociatedwithauthoritarianpoliticalregimes,andabandonedinfavourofprogressivistpedagogies.Thiskindofpolarisationcontinuestodayasconstructivismispromotedinpost-colonialcontexts.Examplesincludethe‘newliteracies’advocate,Street,whoopposesteachingoftechnicalliteraciesas“simplyimposingwesternconceptionsofliteracyontoothercultures”(1996:2).IntheSouthAfricancontext,Streetassociatesliteracy“attachedtoformaleducation”with“vestedinterestswhichdependupontheoldviewsfortheirlegitimacy”(ibid),smearingstateliteracyprogramsbyassociationwithapartheid.Bernstein’sanalysishelpstoshowwhythiskindofpolarisationisnothelpfulforIndigenousandotherdisadvantagedstudentgroups,asthepedagogicconflictdoesnotoriginatewiththeirinterestsorneeds.Whereasprogressivism/constructivismhaslongbeenlegitimatedwithvaluessuchascreativity,personaldevelopment,freedomofexpression,andlearner-centredpractice,versus‘traditional’reproductive,teacher-centredrote-learning,atbottomisastruggleforcontrolofeducation,betweenelitemiddleclassfractions.

Theoppositionbetweenthesefractionsofthemiddleclassisanoppositionnotoverthedistributionofpowerbutoverprinciplesofsocialcontrol.AteconomicandpoliticallevelstheoppositionisanoppositionovertheroleoftheState.(Bernstein1990/2003:212).

ThisanalysisshinesadifferentlightonobjectionswithinthePRFtostatesponsoredliteracyassessments,asconstrainingfreedomofexpressioninfavourof“objectiveandprocessablerepresentations”(DeVault,2008:40).Thesetestingregimeswerecertainlyintroducedbyconservativegovernments,suchastheUKThatchergovernmentinthe1980s,inresponsetoperceivedfailurestoimproveeducationoutcomes,andareclearlyassociatedwiththestrugglebetweenthestatecontrolledORFandtheuniversitybasedPRF.However,theyhavebeencontinuedandexpandedbysocialdemocraticparties,suchastheRudd-GillardAustraliangovernmentof2007-2013,thatrepresenttheinterestsoflessprivilegedgroups,alongsidetheoldandnewmiddleclasses.

Onesuchassessmentregime,introducedbytheHawke-KeatingLaborgovernmentinthe1990s,andcontinuedbytheconservativeHowardgovernment,wastheAustralianNationalProfilesforliteracyandnumeracy.TheseNationalProfileswereorganisedinto8assessmentlevels,andeachlevelwasconsideredtocorrespondwithexpectedliteracygrowthover1.5schoolyears.Theenormousgaprevealedbythisandotherassessments,betweentheliteracyofIndigenousandotherstudentgroups,ledtolargescalefundingofeducationresearchprograms,ofwhichScaffoldingReadingandWritingforIndigenousChildrenwasone.Withinthefirstyearofthisproject,independentevaluatorsreportedaverageimprovementsforjuniorsecondarystudentsat‘2.5Profilelevels’(McCraeetal2000:69).Asthisgrowthwouldnormallybeexpectedoverfouryears,theprojectreceivednationalpublicity,ultimatelyleadingtothedevelopmentoftheReadingtoLearnprogram.HenceReadingtoLearndidnotemergefromacommitmenttooneideologyofpedagogicpracticeoranother,buttotheneedsofIndigenousstudentsandtheircommunities.IthasbeentakenupandexpandedinAustralia,AfricaandEuropeinresponsetotheneedsofotherlessadvantagedstudentgroups.Howtheprogrammeetstheseneedsisillustratedbelow.Howeverinthecourseofthetraining,teachersareaskedtotracktheliteracygrowthofstudentsinthetop,middleandbottombandsoftheirclasses.Thepurposeoftheassessmentisforteacherstoanalysehowtheirpracticeisenhancingtheskillsofallthestudentsintheirclasses,moderatedagainststandardsforeachstageofschool.Theassessmentenablesteacherstoobjectivelyidentifythelanguageresourcesthatstudentsareusingintheirwriting.Fourteencriteriaarescoredfrom0-3,givingapotentialtotalscoreof42.Criteriacoverdimensionsofsocialcontext,textorganisation,discoursepatterns,grammarandgraphicfeatures.Teacherscollecttextsamplesfromtheirstudentsbeforestartingtheprofessionallearningprogram,andattheend.Figure1showsresultsforthese‘pre-intervention’and‘post-intervention’writingsamples,averagedacrossassessmentsby400teachersinonetrainingprogramin2010,representingatleast10,000students.Thisprogramincludedschoolswithupto50%enrolmentsofIndigenousstudents.Pre-interventionandpost-interventionscoresareforthesamestudents,inthetop,middleandbottomcohortsineachschoolstage.

Figure1:Pre-andpost-interventionscoresshowgapbetweenstudentgroups

Thepre-interventionscoresinFigure1showthemeandifferencesinwrittenlanguageresourcesofhigh,middleandlowachievingstudentsineachschoolstage.Asthisisalargesampleacrossclassesandschools,itmaybereadasapproximatingdifferencesintheAustralianandsimilareducationsystemsasawhole.Whatisparticularlyinterestingisthatthegapbetweentopandbottomgroupsiscomparativelynarrowatthestartofschool,labelledKforkindergarten,butthatafterayearortwo(Yr1-2)thegaphastripled,andremainssteadythrougheachfollowingschoolstage.ThetopgroupinYr1-2hasclearlybenefitedfromtheliteracypracticesoftheirearlyyearsteachers,astheiraverageresultshaveshotuptothemedianstandardfortheschoolstage.Thesechildrenarenowreadingandwritingindependently,andarelikelytobeactivelyengagedinlearningfromreading.Themiddlegrouphasalsoobtainedsomebenefit,butthebottomgroupappearstohavereceivedverylittlebenefitfromtheseliteracypractices;theirresultsarestillnearzero,andimproveonlyslightlythrougheachsubsequentstage.Thechildrenwhowerefailingatthestartofprimaryschoolarestillfailingatthestartofsecondary,despitealltheinterventionsprescribedbyvariousliteracytheories.Theselarge-scaledataconfirmwhatteachersknowintuitively,thatthegapbetweenthetopandbottomstudentsintheirclassesandschoolswillessentiallybethesameattheendofeachyear,andeachstudent’sschoolcareer,asitwasatthestart.Thepre-interventionscoresalsosupporttheviewintroducedabove,thatproblemsthatIndigenouschildrenexperiencewithschoolaresimilartotheproblemsthatmanyotherchildrenexperience.AkeydifferenceisthatamuchlargerproportionofIndigenousstudentsfallintothefailinggroup,withseriousconsequencesfortheirfuturelives,andfortheirwholecommunities.Assuch,thedataalsosupporttheviewpresentedinGray1990,

Rose1999thattheproblemsofIndigenousstudentscannotbeaddressedmerelybyafocusonculturaldifference,butonlybysignificantchangesinmainstreamteachingpractices.Centraltothispositionistherecognitionthatteachersneedmoreeffectivetoolstoenablealltheirstudentstosucceedatsimilarlevels,iftheachievementgapineachclassroomistobenarrowed.Thegaphasclearlynarrowedinthepost-interventionscoresinFigure1.Eachcolumnshowsresultsforthesameteachersandsamestudentsasthepre-interventionscoresabove.Thepost-interventionresultsare6-8monthsafterthepre-intervention,achievedwhileteacherswerelearningtousethestrategiesoutlinedabove.Post-interventionscoresshowaveragegrowthinKindergartenis70%abovepre-interventionscores,andthegapbetweenlowandhighachievinggroupsishalved.Allthesechildrenarenowindependentlyreadingandwriting,atanaveragehighstandardforKindergarten,andarewellpreparedforthestartofjuniorprimary.Intheotheryearlevels,growthis30-40%abovethepre-interventionscores,andthegapisreducedto20-30%.Studentswhonormallyremaininthefailingrangearenowreadingandwritingatanacceptableaveragestandardfortheirgradelevels.However,thetopgroupshavealsoacceleratedtoanaverageveryhighstandardfortheirgradelevels.ThesedataarediscussedinmoredetailinRose(2011b,inpressa&b),Rose&Martin(2012,2013).Insum,relationsbetweengovernmentalityandIndigenousstudents’problemsinschoolhavebeendiscussedheremorebroadlyintermsoftheinterestsofvariousgroupsincontemporarysocieties.Controlmeasuressuchasstateliteracyassessmentsandnationalcurriculaareinterpretedintermsofastrugglebetweentheofficialandpedagogicrecontextualisingfields,toinfluencepracticesinschools.WhilethesemeasuresmaybeexperiencedbyagentsinthePRFasconstrainingfreedomofexpression,theycanalsobeusedtoservetheinterestsofgroupswhoseneedshavenotyetbeeneffectivelymetbyprogressivisttheoriesandpracticesadvocatedinthePRF,particularlytheneedsofIndigenousstudents.Modalitiesofteachingandlearningliteracy

Inthissection,IcomparesomecurrentliteracypracticesoftheschoolwiththedesignedpracticesofReadingtoLearn,intermsofsemioticmodalities.Modalitiesofmeaninghavebeenamajorfocusofresearchinrecentdecades,asrepresentedbythepapersinthisvolume.However,classroomteachingandlearningareparticularlycomplexasmultiplesemioticdimensionsareunfoldingsimultaneously,moment-by-moment,inasocialcontextinvolving20-30ormorelearners,exchangingknowledgethroughvariousmodalitiesinagreatvarietyofactivities.Bywayofexample,acommonactivityintheearlyyearsofschoolisSharedBookReading.Inthisactivity,theteacherreadsapicturebookwiththeclass,oftenintheformofa‘bigbook’mountedonaneaselthatallchildrencansee.Typicallytheteacherbeginsbytalkingthroughthepictures,usingthemtoorientthechildrentotheplot,settingsandcharactersofthestorybeforereadingthewordstothem.Thismaybedoneinteractively,byaskingchildrenwhattheycanseeinthepicturesandwhattheyknowabouttheirthemes.Inaddition,othermodalitiesmaybeusedtoorientchildrentothefield,suchaspictures,

video,toys,objects,activities.Theteachermayreadthetextafterorwhilediscussingthepictures.Acommonpracticeisfortheteachertopointatthewordsinthebookastheyarereadaloud.Typicallyasharedreadingbookmaybereadrepeatedly,untilthechildrenarethoroughlyfamiliarwiththestory,andcansaymanyofitswordsalongwiththeteacherasshereads.SharedBookReadingsharesmanyfeatureswiththepracticesofparent-childreadinginliteratemiddleclassfamilies(Williams1995).Thegoalofbothistoengagechildreninwrittenmodesofmeaning,throughapleasurablesocialactivity,inwhichtheparentorteacheristheguide.Parent-childreadingappearstohaveevolvedasamiddleclassculturalpractice,alongsidetheevolutionofschoolinginthelastcentury,andSharedBookReadingappearstohaveevolvedinparallel.AlthoughitisoftendiscussedandadvocatedinthePRF,manyofitsfeaturesseemtobeintuitivelypracticedbyteachers,asreadinginthehomeisintuitivelypracticedbycarers.Itcanbehighlyeffectiveinengagingchildrenfromallbackgroundsinthepleasureofreading.IhaveoftenwitnessedearlyyearsteachersengageIndigenouschildreninunderstanding,enjoying,andsayingthewordsinEnglishpicturebooks,althoughtheymayhavenoreadingandlittleEnglishinthehome.Tounderstandwhyitiseffective,wecananalyseitscomponentsusingafunctionalmodeloflanguageastext-in-context(Martin&Rose2007,2008).Inthismodel,languageanditssocialcontextsarecomplementarydimensionsoftheprocessofmakingmeaning,inwhichlanguageenactsrelationbetweeninteractants,andconstruestheirexperience.Socialrelationsandsocialactivityarerealisedasunfoldingpatternsofdiscourseintexts,thatareinturnrealisedaspatternsofwordings,orgrammar,thatareinturnrealisedaspatternsofsoundsinspeechandlettersinwriting.Wecanthusdistinguishthreelevelstolanguage:patternsofdiscourse,patternsofgrammar,andpatternsofsoundsorletters,togetherrealisingpatternsofsocialrelationsandactivities.Thesethreelevelsoflanguageunderpincommonunderstandingsoftasksinreading:recognisingwrittenwordsandtheirletterpatternsiswidelyknownas‘decoding’;recognisingmeaningsofwordsinsentencesisknownas‘literalcomprehension’;recognisingconnectionsbetweenmeaningsindiscourseisoftentermed‘inferentialcomprehension’;andinterpretingtextsintermsofthereaders’knowledgeandvaluesisoftencalled‘interpretivecomprehension’.SharedBookReadingprovidesstudentswithinterpretivecomprehensionbyrelatingtheirexperiencetoimagesinthebook,andothersourcessuchaspictures,video,toys,objects,activities.Itprovidesinferentialcomprehensionbytalkingthroughthesequenceofthestory,usingtheimagesforsupport.Itprovidesliteralcomprehensionbydiscussingthemeaningsofwordsastheyarereadinthecontextoftheunfoldingstory.Cruciallytheseunderstandingsarebuiltthroughthemodalityofspokeninteractionbetweenteacherandlearners;comprehendingthestoryisinterwoveninthesocialrelationsenactedbetweenteacherandchild.TheonlylevelofthereadingtasknotdirectlyaddressedinSharedBookReadingorparent-childreadingisdecodingofwrittenwords.TheengagementwithwrittenwaysofmeaningaffordedbySharedBookReadingshouldformasolidbasisforchildrentodevelopasreaders,andformanychildrenitcertainlyappearstodoso.ButmanyIndigenousandotherchildrendonotgoontobecomeindependentreaders,asthethepre-interventiondatainFigure1illustrate.Theproblemlies

withtheotherliteracyactivitiesoftheearlyyearsclassroom,thataretypicallyconductedwithothertexts,otherwords,othersoundsandletterpatterns.Thelowerlevelpartsoflanguagearedislocatedfromthemeaningful,engagingactivityofsharedreading,andtaughtasdiscreteelementsofthedailyprogram,whichmanychildrenexperienceasdisconnectedsegments.Despitethedominantprogressivistphilosophyofearlychildhoodeducation,manyoftheseactivitiesusedforteachingbeginningliteracyhaveveryoldorigins,involveagooddealofrotememorisation,andoperatewitharudimentarybricks-&-mortarmodeloflanguage,incontrasttothesocialsemioticmodeloutlineabove.Itiswidelyassumedthatchildrenmustrecognisethelettersofthealphabetandthesoundstheyrepresent,beforetheycanbegintoread,sothealphabetsystemispractisedbyrotememorisation.Childrenrepeatthenamesofletters,astheyarepointedto,oftenwithpicturesillustratingwordsthatstartwiththesoundrepresentedbytheletter(‘a’isforapple),andpractisewritingtheletters.Thispracticeoriginatedintheclassicalperiod.However,astheRomanalphabetdoesnotcoverthesoundsofnorthernEuropeanlanguagessuchasEnglish,childrenmustalsomemorisesystemsofdigraphsthatrepresentthesesounds,commonlyknownasphonics.ThispracticeoriginatedinthemonasteriesofmedievalEurope.Thenextlevelinthebricks-&-mortarmodeliswordrecognition,widelytaughtusingthe‘sightword’or‘wholeword’activity,inwhichchildrenmayhaveweeklylistsofdecontextualisedwordstomemorise.Thenextlevelisthentoputthesewordsintosentences,forwhichchildrenaregivenbasalpicturebooksthatbuildinlevels,fromawordorphraseonapage,toasentence,toaparagraph,andsoon.Thetheoryoflanguagehereisa)componential,buildinglargerbricksoutofsmallerbricks,andb)representational,assumingthatwordsrepresentconcepts,thatwrittenwordsrepresentspokenwords,andwrittenlettersrepresentspokensounds.Nevertheless,thesepracticesoftendoworkforlearnerswhoalreadyhaveextensiveexperienceandunderstandingofwrittenwaysofmeaning.Childrenwhostartschoolwith1000hoursofparent-childreadingareclearlyadvantagedinthisregard,andthismaybeakeyfactorintheevolutionofthismiddleclassculturalpractice.However,childrenwhodonothavethisexperienceoftenfinditdifficulttoassociatethesedecontextualisedpracticeswithmeaningsintexts,sothattheirreadingskillsdevelopmoreslowly.ThuschildrenwhoparticipateeagerlyandintelligentlyinSharedBookReading,andexperienceitasameaningfulcommunicativeactivity,cancometoperceivereadingindividuallyasameaninglessactivityofmemorisingstringsofwordsinabasalpicturebook.Thishelpstoexplainwhyotherwiseintelligentchildrenmaystillbeunabletoreadmorethanbasalpicturebooksbytheendofprimary,andstillbereadingatjuniorprimarylevelsinsecondaryschool,asdiscussedforPitjantjatjarastudentsabove(formoredetaileddiscussionseeRose2010).TheseproblemsareaddressedintheReadingtoLearnprogram,byusingthecomprehensionandengagementprovidedbySharedBookReadingasthestartingpointforacarefullydesignedsequenceofmultimodalactivities.Therepresentationaltheoryisreplacedbyarealisationaltheoryofmeaning,inwhichsocialrelationsandexperiencearerealisedbypatternsofdiscourse,realisedbywordings,realisedbysoundingandlettering.Thatis,wordsmakesenseinthecontextofsentences,thatmakesenseinthecontextoftexts,andsoundsandlettersarealternativemodesofrealisingwords.

Hencebeginningliteracyactivitiesstartwithsentencesfromasharedreadingbookthatstudentsarethoroughlyfamiliarwith,understandandcansayeachwordinsequence.Asentenceiswrittenonacardboardstrip,andtheteacherguidesstudentstopointateachwrittenwordastheysaythemaloud.Intwoorthreerepetitions,childrenareusuallyabletopointandsaythefamiliarwordsaccurately.Thisactivityismoreeffectiveforteachingone-for-onewordrecognitionthanthestandarddecontextualised‘sight/wholeword’activity,aslearnersaresupportedbytheirgraspofmeaningsincontext,alongwiththevisualandmanualmodalitiesofpointing,enablingthemtorecognisethewrittenwordsasequivalentexpressionsofthespokenwordstheyalreadyknow.Oncechildrencanpointandsaythewordsaccurately,theteacherguidesthemtocutthesentenceintogroupsofwordsexpressingmeaningsegmentssuchaswhoorwhatitisabout,whattheyaredoing,whereandwhen,andthentocutupindividualwords.Thismanualactivityisenhancedbylearnersmixingupthecardsandre-arrangingthem,firstintotheiroriginalorder,andthenintoalternativeorderstomakenewsentences.ThiscreativeactivityisknownasSentenceMaking.Onlyafterchildrenhaveathoroughgraspofthepatternsofwordingsinthesentence,aretheyguidedtorecogniseandspellthepatternsoflettersthatrealiseeachofitswords.Inthissteptheyareguidedtocutupthewordsintotheirletterpatterns,andtopractisewritingthemonslates(smallwhiteorblackboards).Figure2showsguidedwordrecognitionandguidedspellingactivitieswithPitjantjatjarateachersandstudents.Figure2:Guidingwordrecognitionandguidedspellingactivities

Oncetheycanaccuratelyspelleachword,andformitsletters,theyarethenguidedtowritewholesentencesusingthesewords.Theseactivitiesmayberepeatedwithaseriesofsentencesfromasharedreadingbook,andthenagainwiththenextsharedbook.Inthisway,children’swrittenlanguageresourcesarebuiltupincyclesthatbeginwithengagementandcomprehensionoftextsincontext,followedbymanipulationofwordingsinsentences,followedbypracticewithwritingletterpatternsinwords,andwritingpatternsofwordsinsentences.

Thegoalisultimatelyforchildrentousetheseresourcestoceatetextsoftheirown.Thisstrategyofbuildingupwrittenresourcesthroughreadingandguidedpracticecontrastswithamorecommonapproachthataskschildrentowritefrompersonalexperiencewhetherornottheyhavedevelopedtheseresources.Texts2and3contrastresultsafterafullyearofstandardearlyyearsliteracyactivities,withresultsforthesamestudentaftertwomonthsoftheReadingtoLearnstrategiesoutlinedabove.Inthe‘pre’samplethechildisonlyabletowriteanameandafewotherwords,whichwereillustratedwithasimplestickfigure.ThischildwouldfallinthebottomYr1-2groupinFigure1.Thepostsampleisacoherentdescriptionofatopictheclasshasbeenstudying.Theaccompanyingillustrationshowedtheseal,theholeintheiceandtheterriblestormsabove.Text2:Outcomeofstandardliteracypracticesinthefirstyearofschool

JohnsimonHe10sogdandhandheHeishappyText3:Outcomewithsamestudentafter2monthsofReadingtoLearn

ThesealisontheiceShehadtogotherbabysomefood.TheyThesealwantthroughaholeintheice.Shedivesdowndeeptogetsomesiqdforthebabysealwaiting.Themummyandthebabygointothewater.Wenterriblestormscometheystayallwinter.Aneffectiveprofessionallearningprogram

ThisbriefoutlineofearlyyearsstrategiesisjustonecomponentoftheReadingtoLearnprofessionallearningprogram.Ondemandfromteachersandschools,theprogramhasgrowntomeettheneedsofearlyyears,primaryandsecondaryteachers,acrosssubjectareas.OthersetsofstrategiesincludePreparingforReading,whichenablesallstudentsinaclasstofollowchallengingtextswithcomprehension;Paragraph-by-paragraphreading,inwhichdensetextsmaybereadandandkeyinformationidentified;DetailedReading,inwhichshortpassagesarereadanddiscussedindetail;JointRewriting,whichguidesstudentstoappropriatethelanguageresourcesofaccomplishedauthors;andJointConstruction,whichguidesstudentstowritewholetextssuccessfully.Theseareallmultimodalactivities,involvingspoken,written,visualandmanualmodalities,aswrittenwordingsareorallydiscussed,andstudentsvisuallyandmanuallyidentifywordingsintextsusinghighlighters,andtaketurnstowriteontheboard.Cruciallytheyarealsowholeclassactivities,inwhichtheteacherguidesallstudentstoidentify,comprehend,discussandwritemeanings,step-by-step.Thestudentsareincontrolforeachtask,buttheteacheristheirauthoritativeguide(Christie2004).Thispracticeaddressesthefundamentalproblemsthatallteachersface:thewiderangeof‘learningabilities’ineveryclassroom,andthelowreadingandwritingskillsofmanystudents.Whereasclassroominteractionsinmostclassroomstypicallyinvolvejustafewtopstudentswhoconsistentlyrespondtoteacherquestions(Nutthal2005,Rose&

Martin2013),theinteractionsintheseR2Lactivitiesarecarefullydesignedtoengageeverystudentintheclassroomtalk-around-text,byenablingthemtosuccessfullyidentifymeaningsinthetextsbeingread,andproposewordingsinthetextsbeingwritten.Predictably,thispracticehasbeencriticisedfromprogressivist/constructivistpositionsas‘teacher-centred’,buttheaimofReadingtoLearnistodemocratisetheclassroom(Rose2005).Theproblemweseeincurrentclassroomsisnotthepowerdifferencebetweenteacherandstudents,butthehierarchyofsuccessandfailurebetweenstudents.Conclusion

Learningtoreadandwrite,andlearningfromreading,aremultimodalactivitiesthatchildrenofthemostprivilegedgroupsinoursocietyareimmersedinfromtheearliestage,sothattheirtransitionsfromhometoschool,andfromprimarytosecondary,andsecondarytofurthereducationarerelativelysmoothandassured.Theskillsthatteachersaregivenintheirpre-servicetraininggenerallymeshwiththeneedsofthesegroupsofstudents,andensuretheirsuccessfulprogression.Incontrastthesametrainingdoesnotmeettheneedsofnon-middleclassstudentsaseffectively,andoftenbarelyatall,especiallyforIndigenousstudents.Teachersarenottrainedtoteachthesestudentstoreadatthelevelstheyshouldbefortheiragesandgrades,norhowtowritesuccesfullyforassessment,sothattoomanyremaininaloworfailingrangethroughouttheirschoolcareers,affordingthemfewoptionsfortheirlivestocome.Thestate,throughtheofficialrecontextualisingfield,attemptstopressureteacherstoimproveoutcomesbyimposingstandardisedassessmentregimesandcurricula.Indirectlythisputspressureonthepedagogicrecontextualisingfield,thatmaybeexperiencedasconstrainingfreedomandcreativity.Bernsteincontextualisestheseconflictsinastrugglebetweenfractionsoftheglobalmiddleclassforcontrolovertheproduction,reproductionandchangesinformsofconsciousnessthateducationaffords.Literacyisattheheartofthisstruggle,asitistheprimarymodalitythroughwhichthesymbolicresourcesofmoderncultureareacquired.Readingandlearningfromreadingarethemeansbywhichsemioticcapitalisexchangedandaccumulatedintheinstitutionsofmodernity.Familieswholackthiscapitalknowthisevenmorekeenlythanthosewhowerebornintoit.Indigenousfamiliesandcommunitiesknowitonlytoowell,assomanyweredeliberatelyexcludedfromitindaysgoneby.Todaythereisnoneedforopenlyracistpracticesofexclusion,ifteachersdonotknowhowtoteachtheirchildrentoreadandlearnfromreading.ThisisoneformthattherelationshipbetweenIndigenouspeoplesandthecolonisingculturenowtakes.Itcannotsimplybeblamedonthestaterestrictingacademicfreedom,anymorethanitcanbeblamedontheculturalorlinguisticdifferencesofstudents.Surelytheprimaryresponsibilityforteachers’capacitiestomeettheneedsoftheirmostdisadvantagedstudentsmustliewiththoseresponsibleforeducatingteachers.References

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